Anastasia, Ghost of the Mediterranean
Anastasia (from Greek Ἀναστασία meaning ‘resurrection’)–is the ghost of a siren, who had suffered a unique and tragic fate. Sirens are half woman, half bird creatures that lure sailors to their deaths, using their shrill voices and seductive looks. According to Greek mythology, Anastasia she fell in love with a human, and her siren sisters punished her. Now she reigns as a ghost, lurking in the winds of the Mediterranean Sea to guide sailors to past any sirens that endanger their journey. Her Roman counterpart is more barbaric; an anger-stricken harpy named Annamaria. Origin Story Anastasia was of the finest sirens that dawned over the Mediterranean Sea, never failing drown the targets she set her sights on. One evening, Anastasia and a group of sirens were searching for their victims, and they came across a shipwreck off the coast of the North Aegean islands. While looking amongst the debris, Anastasia found a man taking shelter in a nearby cave. He begged the siren for mercy, and with his innocent looks and kind soul, melted her vicious heart. She told him that she would come back for him in the evening while her sisters were sleeping. That night she kept her promise and snuck away to help him to escape the cave. The man was captivated by her beauty, and at the end of the night before Anastasia returned to her sisters, they shared a kiss. Every night afterwards, Anastasia would travel to the island to visit her lover, and during the day while she hunted with her sisters, she guilt would accumulate inside of her, against her natural instincts. Not too long after, her siren sisters noticed this change in behavior, and followed her on her nightly excursions. Upon finding out what Anastasia was doing, they felt enraged by her betrayal. Her lover was slain and to punish Anastasia, they held her down and ripped away her wings. The sisters left her behind on the island while she died a slow and painful death. Her soul haunts wherever the oceanic wind carries her, weeping in sorrow until met with sailors she can guide to safety. Anastasia continued to go against her sisters’ wishes, remaining faithful to her commitment to helping humans. When guiding others on their voyages, she stands at the bow of the ship, looking onward and leading the crew through the seas. Legend says that a ship’s figurehead is modeled after her, she will embody it and it will guarantee a safe journey. Appearance Anastasia’s ghost appears as a woman with long wavy hair and pale skin. She is identified in art as having only the bones of her wings (mainly the blade of the scapula) intact, protruding from her shoulders with a jagged tear where the rest of the wing used to be. There are white feathers covering her torso, and her legs are depicted as human legs a majority of the time. One feature that Anastasia is known for is her eyes. When she was a human they were as blue as the ocean, but as a ghost they are soulless and empty. Stephanie Manno